Thursday, May 26, 2011

Running SoSG is a pretty lucrative gig, and since we've been at it for well over four years now, incremental opportunities for sponsors are pretty limited. Imagine my glee, then, to have been approached by the footwear and apparel brand And1, who has agreed to sponsor this puzzle, PCS Season 4 Puzzle 3, for a princely fee (as if we could afford any richer of a lifestyle, right?)!

We're excited to have And1 on board as a sponsor--and think that they will fit perfectly with this puzzle.

Plus, as an added bonus, those who have submitted correct answers will be entered into a contest for a 2011 Dodgers magnet schedule, shipped at our expense (to any US address), so you can mark off the mounting Dodgers losses on your own refrigerator!

Comment freely in the thread, but if you have the solution, please don't give it away to everyone in the comments section. Instead, do the following:

Email us the solution (first and last name), along with your reasoning. Submitted answers without the reasoning, or those submitted with the incorrect reasoning, will count for participation only, even if the answer itself is correct;

Please include your screen name somewhere in the email; and,

Post a comment simply saying you have emailed your solution attempt. We may not be able to reply to your original email promptly, so please be patient and check back on the comment thread for the latest news; we may confirm correct answers there.

You have until midnight PT tonight--and possibly midnight PT on Friday May 27 (pending appeal to the PCS Gods) to submit your answer. Answer will be
posted a 7a on May 29. Depending on how generous I feel (and how busy today gets at work), we may post hints during the day. Good luck!

Not familiar with SoSG's off-day puzzle competition? Read up here. And join the mayhem!

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HINT #1 (10:43a): The second picture in collage #3 is WHACKERS (admittedly, this was one of the more difficult ones to ID, the others should be easier).

HINT #2 (1:20p): The fourth picture in collage #2 is PATIOS.

HINT #3 (1:45p): Okay, I'm realizing how people need a bit of boost on the words, the crux of the puzzle. Here are the word lengths:

Collage #1: 5, 7, 6, 7, 5, 4, 5

Collage #2: 6, 5, 8, 6, 7, 7

Collage #3: 5, 8, 6, 5, 7, 6, 7, 5

You do NOT need to identify all the words to be able to solve the puzzle.

HINT #4 (4:59p): Those of you who are staring at your word lists should probably stare at Collage #3. There are a lot of Dodgers swimming around the lists, but no current Dodger in Collages #1, and only one current Dodger in Collage #2.

HINT #5 (6:45p): Current Dodgers (2011 players) in Collage #3 are represented by pictures 2, 3, 6, and 7. The current Dodger in Collage #2 is represented in picture 5. And the player represented by picture 2--whose word you already know from an earlier hint--is one of the six 2011 bobbleheads.

HINT #6 (10:10p): Wow, I had no idea this one was going to be this difficult. Complicating the effort is the fact that I screwed up hints #4 and #5 (now edited). I'm an idiot.

Tell you what, I'm going to delay publishing the answer for a day, and if the PCS gods are okay with me extending the deadline by 24 hours (to midnight Friday 5/28), I will keep this thread open. If the PCS gods are okay with the extension, answers after the original 5/26 midnight deadline will also count; if not, we'll just adjust to take the correct answers before the original deadline. Ruling pending.

Most of you have gotten word lists but are stuck from there, so here is one more push:

Every word identified represents a specific Dodger. In alphabetical order by last name (which does NOT match the order of the pictures on the three collages), those players' initials are: WA, BA, BB, HSC, JC, AC, OD, KG, SG, CK, DL, AM, RM, HN, WO, AP, TS, JS, SS, DS, MT. And there are five current Dodgers in that list.

My apologies for screwing this whole ball of wax up. Good luck--hopefully you have another 26 hours to solve. --Sax